A Tale of Time
by jesi lily
Summary: Before Hogwarts there was a young boy, with big dreams and every means. See how Godric became one of the greatest inspirations in the Wizarding world, with his friends, loves and family. How did Godric, son of the fearless leader Arthur, become a man who educated an entire world.
1. Chapter 1

The dust settled, revealing the horrors of war but this is what he was born of, his entire life, why should he expect to see anything other than the mutilated bodies of his warriors, to see the destruction they had wrought through this once peaceful ground. He held no regret for what he had done, he felt no sorrow, in fact, he felt nothing. The wind swept across the ground clearing away all the dust, sweeping the smell of sweat and blood across the atmosphere, drowning them in its scent. In fact it was perhaps the most potent smell in that moment, something he adored in many ways, the smell of the oppositions blood. It was not long before the darkening sky had settled to the darkest shade of blue, scattered with diamonds, sparkling in a manner too beautiful for this scene, for something so precious did not belong over the grounds that had become little more than a graveyard. There was no sign of any moon, perhaps hidden behind the tree in the distance, swaying slightly in the breeze that settled over the blood saturated fields, the single sound of metal clinking as the few of his men that survived started to move, back towards their camp.

"ARTHUR!" A Woman screams broke across the silence, and he felt himself shudder at the sound of horror in her voice. He closed his eyes, and felt a human part of him return, he was a man of war, this is what he knew, but he was just a man. "Arthur, what... What happened?"

"Guinevere, I told you to remain behind!" Arthur gritted between his teeth, he looked at her face, a picture of terror, she looked so powerful, so proud, sitting atop a brilliant white stallion, her peaches and cream skin contrasting wonderfully against her long dark locks, flowing in ringlets in the breeze. "I told you to stay."

"You've told me many things Arthur, you'd be a fool to believe I'd start listening now," She looked around, still able to see the battlefield under the light of the stars, as minimal as it may be. Her face showed how much all this death hurt her, for she was not a warrior, she was and always had been of noble birth. "What happened?"

"I tried to reason with them Guinevere, you know I have, but these lands belong to us, this power is ours and for them to try and take it from us... We can't allow it, this Magic, it's too much to simply give away," Arthur looked torn as he watched the beauty before him look away to the night sky, a single tear falling from her eyes, she knew she wished it didn't have to be like this, but they fought fairly, and that's all that could be done to stop her leaving, because in truth it broke her heart.

"I understand Arthur; perhaps we can have order in time..." Her hand caressed her stomach, no true sign of her condition showed yet, but they knew. He looked once more over the grounds, before placing his sword into its scabbard a single ruby at it's hilt glinting blood red in the little light provide, the sword was blood stained with streaks of deep red ruining it's beauty. Both the man and the woman looked at for a long moment before sighing; it hadn't been intended for this. "It's found a meaning at the very least."

Arthur looked at the beautiful woman, her rose lips were turned down in a frown as she carefully lowered herself from the stallion and moved towards him, she reached out, a delicate hand resting against his chest before she pulled herself flush against his body, his own hands quickly finding their place around her waist and holding her close. He could easily feel the heat of her body and smell the scent of rose water in her ebony locks, she was in every sense the most beautiful thing in the world to him and as she stood with him, her deep blue eyes searching his, he could not help but realise that he needed her to understand and love him unconditionally.

"It's alright, I know, if they had this before they could handle the things we can do… I imagine chaos would ensue, I don't want that any more than you do, my love," her voice was regal and well educated, she spoke with definitive tones and sincerity, she doubted him for not a single moment. "For them this is dangerous, more so than anything they could ever imagine, as much for us we have to stop them from finding our people for them."

"It will forever be like this, won't it?" Arthur asked, his own larger hand falling softly over that of his partners, she smiled at him gently letting him know that they would make it work, but how he did not know. "We'll have to do something. Something drastic, I think it's time we create a council to deal with this," he looked to a trusted friend, a tall dark a brooding man who was helping loads horses with their surviving wounded. "Gather the elders, spread the word, we need to convene."

The man Arthur had spoken to stood and nodded his head, he knew instinctively what Arthur meant, he simply knew Arthur. Neither of them wanted this, on both sides too much had been lost… Some had taken it harder than others, a lot of people wanted revenge, but Arthur knew better and having listened to his trusted friend Lancelot also knew better. They'd always lived by rules, ones that ensured their safety and that they didn't abuse what they had, to do so would have been the greatest sin.

* * *

It was only a matter of days before Arthur found himself heading towards large oak doors, he pushed them open and marvelled for a moment, before him was a great room of magnificent beauty. Large and open it was decorated with painting of those that mattered in this world, or in this room, large burning torches shone around the room, sending a fantastic golden glow over everything, and in the middle of the room was the most beautiful item, a large round table, it was thick and heavy looking, polished and smooth looking and in the centre a large red dragon, it looked something like a rare creature Arthur had only seen once or twice, but fascinated him greatly. Around the table were twelve matching thrones, each standing majestically, empty and brilliant.

"Sire, the lords, they are here," Arthur nodded at the young boy who had spoken, he sent him away and took a deep breath preparing himself.

* * *

"ARTHUR!" A male voice roared, hands slamming his hands down on the round table, barley making it shake with its solidarity. "They slaughtered Le Fey! Left his wife behind with babe, what do you expect from us? To die for those worthless-"

"Be quiet Ethereld!" Guinevere snapped from her position beside Arthur, the man was useless, and easily offended. The audacity of him stomping into their home like this was beyond anything she witnessed before. "We took action as we said we would, there should be a calm for a while."

Ethereld, an aging noble man glared in Guinevere's direction, she had always been outspoken, pregnancy had not helped the situation. She looked to Lancelot's lover, a beautiful dark haired woman, not unlike herself, named Elaine, she had however the most stunning blue eyes. She like Guinevere was pregnant.

Arthur looked around the able and sighed heavily, the constant acts of deranged wizard and human alike was growing uncontrollable.

"I will declare a council, my knight and an elected committee, the council will discuss the issues that each may hold with current events, however we will equally punish those who act out of hand," Arthur declared as the flash of thought hit him like lightning. "We will do this fairly Ethereld, if you have an issue with our ways dealing with the problems we suffer, join the council, and voice your opinions where things can be voted upon fairly."

Arthur looked at his knights, all of them sat around the table, some had wives and children by their sides, it was true that this continual battle could not be allowed to go on forever unsupervised in some manner. His father King Uther had run council to oversee many different sectors of his kingdom, and Arthur could not see a reason not to do so with his lands and powers.

"Are we agreed."

"Agreed."

"Ethereld, we will act as council over all things magic, summon the users, we have much to discuss."


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur looked out over his lands, he had never expected so much to come from that single meeting, but now as he looked over the land, and saw birds flying, serving girls chattering, it was hard to not notice the peace.

He walked back to his wife, laying in their bed, sleeping peacefully. It seemed all so easy in that moment. It had taken months of arguments and compromises, but a settlement had been reached.

Secrecy was of key importance, if no ordinary man, or as they were now somewhat affectionately known Muggle, knew of the existence of a wizard, it was harder for them to hunt their magic. To act out against a muggle was to break the secrecy; therefore you were breaking the rules imposed. If a muggle were to find out about ones position as a wizard then it could be dealt with using some sort of confusions or memory charm, but no wizard was to reveal himself.

Of course there were some who deemed the muggles to be lesser beings, as happens when one is entitled to a power above another, but Arthur knew better, he had seen kings fall beneath their own sense of entitlement. He would wish that fall on no man, for it was one of which you could not recover. There were of course issues with other magical beings, but as of this moment, they could be slowly dealt with, the focus was upon disappearing from the world.

"_What about the children?" One of the Knights, Percival had asked, looking at Arthur with trepidation. "Do we punish them for the magic they cannot yet control?"_

As of yet there was no answer, other than teach them well. Fathers had for years taught their sons, as mothers had taught their daughters, that responsibility fell upon the old to guide the young.

Now it was he job also to teach his son. Sleeping soundly beside his mother was a young child, barely more than a few months old. He was beautiful, like his mother in many ways, but from the first day he lived, there was the certainty that he took after his father, the strength in his grip had shown it all. He lifted the sleeping babe into his arms and cradled him close.

"One day my son, this will be yours."

"My lord," Arthur looked towards the doorway and smiled at the man who stood there, dressed in a white robe, he looked a hundred years old, and perhaps he was. This was the man who had taught Arthur all he knew about Magics, who had taught him much about the responsibility of the power they carry, not only in their magic, but in the position he held.

"Merlin, Old friend, it is good to see you," Arthur smiled, clapping his old tutor on the back, Merlin smiled a warm familiar smile, and peered at the baby still in Arthurs grasp.

"You must excuse me; I sometimes wander around and watch this boy… The beauty of youth, where everything is so simple, no idea of the weight he carries, or the chances he can create," Merlin mused watching the child sleep. "I can only hope he turns out to be like his father."

"Perhaps, I think I would need some help, if you still feel able to tutor reckless little boys," Arthur replied, remembering the old days, when he would sneak away from his tutors lessons, in search of pretty girls, he had found Guinevere, and gotten very much told off.

"It would be my pleasure."

* * *

"Godric!" Arthur called to his young son, he was nearly seven years old now, who was out in the grounds of their home, Camelot, the expansive castle that Arthur had called home for all the time he could remember. The boy was with another boy his age, though slightly younger, a slim blonde lad, the son of Morgan Le Fey and her late husband Lord Le Fey. They were playing fighting with swords, too young to use magic properly just yet. "Tell your friend to find his mother, we've got guests arriving."

"Bye Salazar!" The young dark haired boy yelled before running towards his father, brown eyes gleaming as he looked up at Arthur. "Who's visiting father?"

"A friend from Ireland."

Arthur led his son to the meeting room where the round table was sat; there were a few faces Godric had not seen before, some that he had. Rowena, the daughter of Lancelot was sitting quietly beside her mother; she looked at Godric as he entered and smiled brightly, but did not move to be near him, as her father greeted the woman who appeared to be their guest.

"My lady, it is of the upmost pleasure to welcome you to Camelot," Arthur said happily, taking the woman's hand in his own and kissing it, Guinevere raised an eyebrow but smiled, she walked to Godric her dark curls bouncing, and led him forward. "This is my wife and son, Guinevere and Godric."

"You have a beautiful family," The woman replied, smiling at Guinevere and Godric, she was a beautiful woman, with long blonde hair that was pulled pack, but Godric noticed something else, a small blonde haired girl, peeping at him from behind the women's dress. "This is Helga, my daughter."

* * *

Godric was undecided about how he felt about Queen Maeve, he knew her people had given her the title, she had kept it even after her husbands death, he guessed it was because of the things she did. His father had told him how she had gathered all the children and taught them magic, she said that one direction rather than family interpretation led to the society growing together, rather than into clans almost. His father had agreed, but had conceded that he was doing more than he was sure he could really handle.

"She won't teach me yet," A small voice said from behind him, Godric whipped around in his surprise, seeming to frighten the young girl who had spoken, she gasped, and stepped back, tripping over her own dress, landing quite painfully onto the hard floor. Her bottom lip wobbled, but she did not let herself cry. Godric scowled, he would surely get the blame if the girl cried, he offered her his hand reluctantly, and she took it just as reluctantly.

"_You're_ not big enough," He told the girl, his very manner quite conceited as he said it. The girl frowned, tears all forgotten as she glared at him.

"And you think you are?" She asked accusingly, crossing her arms. "You're just a spoilt prince who's mean, I bet you can't even do magic!" She stomped her foot, before running away from the young boy, leaving him there, pretending to have not heard what she had said.

A chuckle broke the young prince from his pretence and he turned to see an aging man stood there, leaning against a staff of white wood.

"You my child, should learn to be more gracious around little Princess Helga, she is perhaps one of the more mannered children I have ever to meet," The man told him. "She's also very pretty."

Godric frowned at the old man, before shrugging his shoulders. He did not care for _pretty princesses_ He wanted to fight and to lead.

"Merlin, do you think one day I'll be like my father?"

"Not if you talk to Little Helga like that, but yes, most likely, most hopefully, you will."

"Father says that one day I will find a girl and get married, but I won't! I will never marry a _girl_!" The old man chuckled once again, causing Godric to only frown further.

"And I am sure that your father said exactly the same thing when he was seven years old," The man told him before looking back to the castle. "Follow me Godric, your father has business to attend, and I believe it will do you well to see how he handles the attention he receives."

Godric followed Merlin, the old man led him towards the hall with the round table. Inside his father was talking to Queen Maeve, her serving ladies were all around, offering drinks and foods. He looked to his mother, she looked annoyed, like the time he had gotten covered in mud when fighting with Salazar and then came into the hall, covering a rug in mud. His father however did not seem to notice the attention.

"Your mother is a witch not to be trifled with," Merlin told him quietly. "And those girls are trifling. Queen Maeve respects him, she judges a man by not the land he acquires but how he treats his family."

"Is she _testing_ him?" Godric asked, sounding disgusted and the mere idea of doing such a thing.

"Of course she is child, how else is she to know whether she would like to create an alliance; equally your father will test her and her sensibilities."

"Why can't they just get on?" Godric asked, sounding confused.

"Because we want to align ourselves with the right people," Merlin answered. "We want to make sure we have the right people on our side, that we trust the right people… Arthur trusted Uther but Uther never understood Magic and as such your father paid for that trust… It is a loss he will never recover from."


	3. Chapter 3

"You alright there, my old friend," A young man asked as he sat atop a beautiful white stallion, he looked to his friend, while the young man who had spoken looked regal and magnificent upon the beast, his dark hair windswept and amusement evident on his face, his friend was not in such a state. The blonde haired male who accompanied the man who had spoken could be found clinging helplessly to his beast, a clump of leaves sticking out of his white blonde hair as he frowned.

"Do be quiet Godric, before I find unusual ways to wipe that smile from your face," The blonde male threatened plucking from his belt a thin stick, pointing it vaguely in his friends direction.

"Put it away, Salazar, we're in the muggle territory, come, let's head back to Camelot, father told me this morning that Queen Maeve is visiting again, she'll be bringing her terror of a daughter," Godric said rolling his eyes.

"Why at fifteen years old you do seem to be getting a bit big for your boots, Helga is far from a terror, but ever since you told her she was too little to learn magic, she's had something of a hatred towards you," Salazar told his friend, grudgingly putting his wand away, he followed his friend along the path having managed to regain control of his animal. "Plus I hear that the little one has grown quite beautiful since we last saw her."

"She's a child," Godric replied, shrugging, clearly not bothered by her in anyway, shape or form. Salazar grinned to himself, Godric was full of pride, not necessarily to his downfall, but she had called him spoilt almost eight years ago, and how was one meant to forgive such an act?

It did not take them too long to reach the boundaries of Camelot, as the years had gone on Arthur had Merlin lay over the land spells and enchantments to keep muggles away, things often happened within the land that were not always explainable. It was part of the secrecy that was being built up, the council worked at it tirelessly.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here, but two noble boys, one who looks-" The voice that spoke stopped as the boys neared the familiar sound. "Salazar, what happened to you?" The voice asked, as a girl stepped from behind an old oak tree.

The girl was pretty, she had raven black locks, fair skin, almost snow white, she wore a long flowing gown of sapphire blue. She lifted the hem of the dress, moving towards them with the grace that no other woman ever seemed able to match.

"It's nothing, Patroclus was simply frightened," Salazar said patting his beasts neck, he reached his hand out to the girl who took it, allowing herself to be pulled onto the horse behind Salazar, and wrapped her arms around the man, holding on as they moved forward. "What were you even doing hiding behind the trees?"

"I was inspecting the flowers that grew there, Maeves girl, Helga seems to know an awful lot about plants," There was a snipe in the girls voice that made it evident that there was jealously in Helga's knowledge.

"What is it with you two and Helga?" Salazar asked, exasperated. "Godric has never gotten over the fact that she called him spoilt many years ago, and you Rowena are turning green over her knowledge of flowers?"

"Are you fond of her, Salazar?" The girl behind him asked slowly, almost cautiously. The blonde haired man only laughed however at her question as they rode past the high stone walls, into the large courtyard.

"My Prince, Lord Salazar, Lady Rowena, you have been asked to attend to the King when he greets Queen Maeve," One of the guards told the three teenagers as they rode into the castle ground, Salazar could feel the sigh in his friends as the words were spoken. Arthur had wanted Helga to feel more welcome to Camelot, so far it had not gone so well. He may have listened in as Queen Maeve had said that she could not force people to like her daughter, she had just hoped she'd make friends easier. He felt almost sorry for the girl.

Almost.

He knew better than to annoy either Godric or Rowena, he knew how to get around them, then again, he had been brought up with them. His mother had always insisted that being close to them would eventually hold its advantages, and to this point she was right. The few times they had been in trouble, there had been leniency, such as the time a muggle was murdered on their lands, Salazar would never admit to it, but he knew his mother had slain the muggle, revenge for the murder of her husband. Considerations had been made, and they had escaped with little more than a slap on the wrist.

The group dismounted their animals, and moved towards the main hall, there they found Queen Maeve seated beside Guinevere, talking animatedly, smiling as they did, the two could not be more different, Maeve had golden flowing locks that contrasted with Guinevere's dark curls, both were woman of power, with grace and ease, both wore robes of rich colours and beautiful jewels. But there was something very different about them in a way that no one could quite put their finger on, Maeve was taller, her face longer, with bright blue eyes, but it was more than that.

But something else caught Salazar's eyes, an outstanding beauty, a young woman, younger than Rowena's fifteen years, but still. She had a heart shaped face, beautifully framed with waves of golden blonde hair. She wore a dress of white and gold, her hair pinned back with pearls. He felt Godric beside him stop instantly.

A smile formed on Salazar's lips.

* * *

"You like her, don't you?" Rowena accused as they moved away from the room, Salazar allowed the pair room as he watched them move, he was unsure about how he felt now, there was a tinge of jealously sitting bitterly in the pit of his stomach as he watched Rowena almost bite at Godric with her own jealously. "Godric answer me!"

"Lady Rowena, please," Godric replied, stopping and turning on the dark haired beauty. "Just, of what business is it of yours, now, off with you."

Rowena glared at Godric before storming off in the opposite direction, Salazar took his chance and followed her.

"It all seems so petty, these arguments over a girl," He said quietly, his voice a drawl as he spoke, Rowena looked over her shoulder at him, but did not stop her furious pace. "The world knows you are one of the smartest women in the realm, why let her bother you so much."

"You know nothing Salazar," Rowena snapped at him, stopping, he stalked up to her, so they were almost right against each other in the deserted corridor. For a second she thought he would kiss her, his lips were so close to hers.

"I know enough."


	4. Chapter 4

"You look more like your father," Godric spun and sighed at the vision that had snuck up behind him. He looked down, his hands at the hilt of the his sword, he had been ready to draw his blade, a habit he guessed when his father was so insistent that he didn't turn first to magic. She however already had her wand in her hand, it was glittering a small amount of light, enough to make her beauty appear even greater, it was almost too much to bear.

"And you have not yet learnt your lesson," Godric replied with ease, stepping back and releasing his hold on the sword, instead pulling out his wand and lighting the tip in a similar manner to the woman opposite him. "It has been a long time."

"It has," The woman agreed, she moved closer to him, sliding herself down onto the recliner beside the table where Godric had been stood, flipping through the pages of an ancient tome. "What are you reading?"

Godric picked up the book and sat beside the young woman, showing her the open page.

"Merlin, my fathers friend and adviser started writing this for me, he said one day it may come in useful, he says I am an accomplished dueller, but I am not so sure, my father is better then I am," Godric admitted as he sat beside the beautiful woman, he was surprised when she moved away from his, her wand in her hands.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Godric reacted quickly, defending himself from her spell, she smiled at him. He had been quick to react to her, she was somewhat impressed. "You are good, your father taught you, I see, taught you well, and as you may have gathered I did grow big enough to learn magic."

"You too are talented," Godric replied, he smiled at the girl. "And many years have passed since I was foolish enough to make such comments."

"I'd wager that you're not the spoilt prince I accused you of being either," She replied with a small smile.

"Oh I don't know about that Helga."

* * *

"Arthur! How dare you do this to me! To me Arthur!" A woman screamed, Godric stopped in his place, beside him the young Helga, she looked up at him then looked down at her feet, she bowed her head and disappeared down a corridor. Godric moved towards the noise and looked into the round table room, inside his father was sat in his seat at the table, some of his knights were there also, none looked happy.

"Because Morgana, you are reckless and arrogant!" Arthur snapped back at the woman, she glared at him, she was tall and lean and imposing to any person, man or woman, she had however family similarities to Arthur, a similar jaw structure. Her hair was pulled back tightly, doing nothing to lessen the look of severity. Her face was a mixture of fury and pain. "Because you continue to flout everything I have tried to build, because for everything I have tried to provide for you since your husbands death, you have continued with such ungratefulness with both your actions and your words!"

"You are my brother-"

"Half brother! And I know, but you my sister, I can no longer protect from your own actions, if you are not wary you will leave your family in a state from which there is no recovery, and for what? Think about your son. Mindless bitter revenge for a death your husband brought on himself when he decided to show off!"

"How d-"

"I dare because I must, I am King, Morgana, I am the ruler of these lands, it is for me to govern the people that live here. You are my sister, I have made all the allowances I can, I have dismissed your constant breaking of the secrecy we are building around our kind, for the protection of our magic, I have covered the countless innocents you have harmed, fixing them and then making them forget, but no more, no longer." Arthur stood and faced his sister as he spoke, she quivered under his iron glare, but did not open her mouth to defend herself, but rather she brought herself to her full height.

"They deserved everything they received, the filthy muggles as you so fondly call them, they are nothing more than the mud below my feet! I have power, denied to them! Why must I hide myself away!" Her voiced echoed and boomed around the room, and there was a tense silence as she finished.

"They are not to be punished for being denied a gift, it does not make them lesser beings, but rather it is for us to protect them, from us and from themselves, there is something very simply wrong with how you are thinking Morgana," The voice that had spoken was not of Arthur, or even Guinevere who had remained in a shocked silence in her seat, but of Arthur best friend and confident, Lancelot, he stood and faced Morgana, and looked at her directly. "You will never understand that what we have can be just as much a curse as it could be a gift, I've watched with sorrow as Arthur has repeatedly and against my better advice allowed you to act out of term, but this is once too many."

"You don't have the right!" Morgana screamed at him, she lunged forward, but Arthur caught her around the waist and dragged her away, as Guinevere gasped in shock and a few of the other knights jumped to their feet.

"But he does, Morgana, you know I give my knights the right to think and talk freely, and he speak the truth," Arthur said finally, he let go of her, near the doorway and turned his back to her. "Leave."

* * *

Salazar remained in the shadows of the room, no one had seen him enter and as he moved away, no one saw him exit. He had heard it all, the furious screaming of his mother and the judgement made by Arthur, he was not entirely sure how he felt about it all. Deep inside him there was a well of rage for the way his mother was being treated, she was the Kings sister, not just some trollop from the streets, she deserved more respect. She had her reasons, those without magic had taken her husbands life brutally, did they not deserve to be punished?

He said nothing however and disappeared, he was out in the corridor around the circle room, when he almost crashed into another form. He looked down to see a woman with dark curls and a navy dress stumble backwards; he caught her before she fell completely.

"Rowena, what are you doing?" he asked as he looked into her bright blue eyes, she blushed, staining her ivory skin slightly. She ducked her head away, the question hardly needed answering from the look on her face. "Have you got an opinion then little Rowena?"

"What do I know of politics and the demands of a King, I sit and read my books, I learn and gain knowledge, but free thought is not learnt," she replied quietly.

"If only it were that simple," Salazar said looking down, he caught her wrist before she could leave him and placed a delicate kiss on her hand. "But nothing is ever that simple."


	5. Chapter 5

"You cannot hide from the truth, any longer Arthur," Lancelot said as he sat back in his seat, he looked around the room at the many faces.

His King, Arthur, and Queen Guinevere, sat side by side together, solidarity personified. His own wife Elaine beside him, her hand entwined with his. Gawain, Arthur's nephew, the product of Morganas sisters' marriage to King Lot; his brother Gareth, the youngest of the sons; Gaheris, their last brother. Geraint, the widowed knight. Bedivere, the one handed knight. Galahad, Elaine's brother. Kay, Arthurs foster brother. Bors de Ganis, his cousin. Brothers Lamorak and Percival. And Tristan, with his wife Iseult.

Arthurs knights, bound to justice and honour. They bore weapons of those that did not hold their powers to respect and uphold this, it was difficult sometimes to maintain a clear mind when dealing with issues such as the one they faced now, but it was a reality they had to face.

"Morgana has become more reckless… I say reckless but her actions have more often than not proved to be premeditated," Gawain said reluctantly. "She is well and truly aware of what she is doing, she knows the laws, and yet she continues to act out of hand…"

Arthur sighed and nodded, he had wanted to deny her actions were wrong. But he was not in a position to expect one thing form his sister and another from anyone else; that was not the man Arthur wished to be. He looked at his wife, who had grasped his hand.

"We will provide a home for Salazar, and Morgana… Well my dearest that is for you to decide."

He looked around his knights and saw it written across each of their features, Morgana was a danger to the peace they were creating in this land.

"She will be exiled to Isle Azkaban," Arthur said heavily, he looked at an absolute loss as he put forward her punishment. He looked to his knights, Lancelot got to his feet, nodding his head and led them out to bring out the punishment. "My dear lady, I wish things were more simple."

"I know," Guinevere said solemnly. "But it is never the way, you are a good man, remember that, and no matter how complicated things become, you will make the right decisions."

* * *

"She's your aunt, is she not?" The voice cut across, stealing him from his thoughts. He'd been sitting on the window ledge, looking out over the courtyard where a few of the knights were practising. He turned towards the door way, and saw Helga leaning against the frame, dressed beautiful in a light blue dress, he nearly feel over himself at the mere sight of her. "The woman who was banished yesterday?"

"Yes, yes she was," Godric replied, he's taken too long to reply and she was looking at him with great concern, she moved towards him stopping directly in front of him. He swallowed, an action that she misread as despair.

"I'm sorry… I know it must be difficult-"

"Not as much so as it is for Salazar," He replied quickly, it was defensive and she looked even more concerned, a small hand reached forward, stopping over his heart, he could feel the warmth of her hand even though his shirt, it was a simple cotton shirt, which he wore with just a pair of tight brown trousers and leather boots. He usually wore proper clothing of his status, but there hadn't appeared to be a need to when he simply wanted to stay in his room.

He looked at her, she was wearing a simple but beautiful long gown, it was cream in colour, with gold detailing. Her hair was down, with a bit pulled back, she smiled softly at him.

"I'm sure he'll… You'll be a good friend to him."

And then she backed away, leaving him on his own.

* * *

"You will always have a place here with us Salazar, I want you to know that, despite everything that is happening, there will always be a place here for you." Salazar looked at the man who had spoken, by no means a young man anymore, but still a powerful man.

"Thank you, King Arthur," Salazar murmured, lowering his head, he felt a hand on his shoulder, giving a small squeeze.

"It is just Arthur to you Salazar, you are still my nephew."

* * *

"That is an interesting gift you have," The voice made his heart skip a beat, but he showed no outward sign of his surprise. He looked over his shoulder, at the girl who stood there. She looked like an angel as the slowly setting sun shone behind her, forming a halo around her body. Her eyes were fixed on his hands, and the snake entwined in them. "Not many are so easy around them."

"How long have you been there?" He asked, unable to keep the bite from his tone. He was angry, quite simply he did not appreciate people snooping around where it was quite plainly none of their business.

"Long enough," She replied with a small shrug of her shoulders, watching as the snake slithered from his hands and into the long grass. She placed a hand on the tree as she manoeuvred to watch as the creature disappeared into the grass, before her eyes flickered back to him. "You speak like them… I've never seen that before, could you teach me how?"

For a moment he just watched her, as she stood there, looking right back at him, before shaking his head no.

"I've been able to communicate with them for as long as I can remember, I do it without realising I've spoken any differently to anyone else," He responded, it was truthful, which for him was particularly unusual. From an early age he had learnt the importance of not letting a single person know the full truth. "If teaching you meant more time alone with you, I assure you, it would be a pleasure."

A rosy blush rose to her cheeks, finally forcing her to look away from him with those big blue eyes. It would be no lie to say he was relieved, sure that those eyes could steal almost anything they wanted from him.

"Lady Rowena and Lord Godric were searching for you not long ago," Helga told him, though not meeting his eyes again, instead she turned her back and wandered away, back towards Camelot.

Salazar watched her for a moment before resting against the tree, he was eighteen years old now, considered a man amongst most of the world, though Arthur had said as much when his seventeenth birthday had dawned. Godric was still only sixteen, not quite considered a man yet, Rowena was fifteen, but Helga, she was only a mere fourteen years old. He knew that all too soon the realities of the world would strike his friends, in ways they would have never even considered before.

And they would see.


End file.
